South Shore commuter rail trains to start late-night service

Erin Tiernan Erin Tiernan The Patriot Ledger @ErinTiernan

Tuesday

May 14, 2019 at 3:47 PMMay 15, 2019 at 8:05 AM

This fall the Greenbush, Kingston/Plymouth and Middleboro/Lakeville lines will all have trains leaving Boston at 11:20 p.m. or later, something advocates say will allow public transit riders to enjoy late-night concerts, sports games and other Boston activities.

QUINCY — Lawmakers and advocates who for years have pushed for late-night service on the South Shore's three commuter rail lines are declaring victory after state officials announced Tuesday that trains would begin running later starting this fall.

The decision to extend service hours on the Greenbush, Kingston/Plymouth and Middleboro/Lakeville lines means trains will run late enough to shuttle residents back from late-night concerts, sports games and nights out in Boston.

Trains on all three lines will leave Boston at 11:20 p.m. or later daily, a change that local lawmakers and public transit advocates have been fighting for for more than five years, said MBTA Advisory Board member Richard Prone.

"We're getting trains now so we'll be able to see sporting events, concerts, plays, anything, and still have plenty of time to catch the train home," Prone said. "It is something that we've been fighting for for a very long time."

Currently, none of the lines have trains that leave Boston after 11 p.m.

Beginning this fall, trains on the Greenbush line will leave Boston at 11:20 every night, expanding service by more than an hour on weeknights and 25 minutes on weekends. The last Kingston/Plymouth train will leave Boston at 11:40 p.m. daily, an hour later than the last weeknight and weekend trains currently.

Middleboro/Lakeville riders will also see service time extended by about an hour on both weekends and weeknights, with the last train scheduled to leave Boston at 11:30 p.m.

It's unclear when the new service will be rolled out come fall, but MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak committed to the plan during Monday's Fiscal Management Control Board meeting.

"I am allowing the proposal to go forward, which will move trains to provide additional late-night options to the South Shore," Poftak said.

Poftak said the T would review the schedule changes after a year to see if its expectations for ridership hold up.

Prone predicted the service would be popular among South Shore residents who are tired of leaving Red Sox games during the sixth inning and ducking out of other events early so they can catch a train home.

He called the changes a "common sense" service expansion for a public transit system in the midst of a $1.2 billion investment into its commuter rail and subway systems. The three South Shore lines are the only commuter lines that don't have service after 11 p.m.

"We've finally gained parity with rest of the T system and can now use the commuter rail to go into Boston in the evening," Prone said.

Reach Erin Tiernan at etiernan@patriotledger.com or 617-786-7320. Follow her on Twitter @ErinTiernan.